MSNBC is striking while the political iron is hot. After seeing its ratings spike by 62 percent in the primary-packed month of February, the cable news channel is adding a new nightly hour-long show, Race to the White House, devoted solely to covering 2008 presidential campaign. NBC News White House correspondent David Gregory will anchor the program, which will replace Tucker in the 6 pm/ET slot starting March 17. Tucker host Tucker Carlson will remain with MSNBC as a senior campaign correspondent. MSNBC is also turning over a daytime hour to political coverage that will be anchored by Andrea Mitchell. In prime time, NBC News legal correspondent's Dan Abrams' 9 pm program is being relaunched with a new name, Verdict with Dan Abrams. Abrams will look at the day's news from a legal perspective — with an added focus on politics during the campaign season. — Stephen Battaglio
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OK, we know he simply cannot dance, but can he front a good game show? Crossfire cohost turned MSNBC newsman Tucker Carlson has been tapped to host Who Do You Trust?, a quiz-show pilot produced for CBS by Phil Gurin (The Weakest Link). As Variety notes, a precedent was set for such an incongruous transition when a former Richard Nixon speechwriter ultimately wound up hosting... anyone, anyone? Win Ben Stein's Money, that's right.
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?We are not going home tonight,? Shanna Moakler proclaimed during one of her rehearsal-scene interviews. Sorry, Shanna, but yes you are. She may once have been Miss USA, but clearly she wasn?t Miss Popularity, and that was ultimately the reason for her early exit. And based on her appearance in the red-light spotlight for two weeks now, Willa Ford looks primed to be following Shanna next week, for the same reason.So we won?t be seeing any more of Shanna, and hopefully no more of Julio Iglesias, either. Really, the less said about his performance the better. At least there was dance going on during it, which proved to be a pleasant distraction. And even more enjoyable was the group jive. I know they were dancing to Billy Idol, but their all-black outfits and the way they paired off made me think of the final scene from Grease ? I almost expected Sandy and Danny to come out and join them.I did not expect to see Tucker Carlson again, and yet, there he was. Thankfully not dancing, but i...
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Yes, I know Tucker Carlson didn?t dance the tango, and now he won?t even get a chance to, but I couldn?t resist the alliteration. So, although I predicted it would be Sara Evans, justice was indeed served and Tucker was the first one out. Deservedly so, for his non-dancing performance. And he managed to insult both ?slow children? and people with accents with his parting words. Way to go, Tucker.Also kind of insulting: the red lighting in which they bathe the bottom three couples. I don?t remember that from last season. It seems a bit harsh. But not as harsh as Jerry Springer was on himself. He seemed to genuinely expect that he was going to be the first one gone, and he wasn?t even in the bottom three. As he kept making more humble and self-effacing comments, I found myself liking him more and more. Hang in there, Jerry!The group mambo number performed by the professionals was great, and the carnival of colors that made up their costumes was a feast for the eyes. And Tom Jones was...
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Looks like we're in for another fun season of Dancing with the Stars, the kind of show that defines reality TV as a guilty pleasure. It's hard not to watch this gaudy bauble of harmless fluff without a goofy grin on your face, at times because of the train-wreck spectacle of the terminally rhythm-less (Tucker Carlson, who didn't even dance half of his dance, content to make faces and laugh it all off) and at times because of the sheer joy of performance, whether it's Emmitt Smith's crowd-pleasing playfulness, Mario Lopez's boyish exuberance or Willa Ford's unexpected elegance. (She could be this season's Stacy Keibler.)Handicapping these so-called stars is almost as silly a pastime as watching them, but really, who can resist asking questions like who is this season's Drew Lachey, Lopez or the startlingly buff Joey Lawrence, who looks like Mr. Clean on steroids. My money's on Lopez. Or as judge Bruno Tonioli might call him, the Energizer Bunny, as in: "Do you have extra batteries in...
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